YES!

Today was my LAST DAY at Machinery, Inc., a.k.a. Target Corporation. I'm DONE. Gone. No more. No more stupid business attire, no more cramped cubicle, no more subliminal oppressive corporate mind control.

That said, I will miss the people I worked with. Sure, I hated working for Target, but the people I worked with kept me from thoughts of suicide. The core group of people I worked with and made runs to the Bullseye Cafe with and hung out with on Taco Tuesday with are a cool group of people, and I'm damn glad to have met them.

Is it bad that I wish they all could leave Target to go to onward and upward at better jobs elsewhere? Is it bad that I think that they're much too cool and smart and kickass to be spending their creative and analytical energies at a company that, in my humble opinion, isn't worthy of their talents?

Ah, enough of those thoughts. A group of those cool people joined me for happy hour this evening. I had a little toast to them planned out in my mind, but I never worked up the guts to say it. For posterity's sake, here it is:

"Everyone here tonight knows that I often did not enjoy my time at Target. However, I always enjoyed the company and companionship of every one of you. Each of you made the last year I've spent here better, and I thank you for it - you helped me retain my tentative grasp on sanity."

Anticipation.

My scattershot thoughts, in list form - because I love lists.

1. Today is my last day working from the TPS office
2. Tomorrow is my last day at Machinery, Inc.
3. I haven't even STARTED packing yet
4. I pick up the U-Haul trailer on the 3rd
5. I need to get rid of a lot of shit
6. I recently started a new writing project (because, you know, I have so damn much free time)
7. In my short time back in Minneapolis, I've made a bunch of really good friends
8. I can't wait to get back to LA
9. I'm also looking forward to the road trip out, and the stops I've got planned along the way
10. I'm even thinking of doing a little time-lapse video of my drive, if I have room in the car to set it up
11. Gonna miss Melba
12. Gonna miss Duff, too
13. And Dad
14. And friends, of course
15. Will not miss the crappy crap-ass weather

Fizziday: The last...

I forgot to post this yesterday, my last Friday at Machinery, Inc.

3 days to go!

Intermission

Taking a little break from the Watkins Glen story to give a news update. Some good stuff:

1. Only 6 more days of work left at Machinery, Inc. - my last day there is May 31st.
2. I have a U-Haul trailer reserved for a one-way trip from Minneapolis to Los Angeles starting May 31... will likely hit the road June 3rd.
3. On the way to LA, I'll be detouring through Tacoma and Seattle, WA and Portland and Eugene, OR. I also hope to have time to visit friends in the Bay Area too.
4. Melba finally got her first offer on her condo, but the offer was mega-lowball. Hopefully the place will sell soon so she can make the move to LA without too much delay.
5. I volunteered my camera skills and shot a ton of photos for the local BMW club chapter's driving school at Brainerd Int'l Raceway last weekend. Pics here.

Day 2

Saturday, May 12

7:00am
Tammer and I woke up early despite my alarm not going off (good thing Tammer set a backup), showered fast, and rode together in his car to the track in time for the morning driver's meeting.

7:50amWe arrived at the track. The weather was cool and a little breezy, but sunny. I picked up my packet with the weekend's schedule, track maps, and my window numbers, and started helping Tammer get his car prepped for the track.8:00am
Jonathan arrived with his wife Lisa. His car (which he very graciously agreed to share with me) was ready to go since he was at the track the day before to drive the Friday track sessions. We listened to the driver's meeting on the paddock PA system as we swapped Tammer's front brake pads and all 4 tires for the track pads and tires.The voice on the PA mentions some weird new method for giving point-by passing signals that involves turn signals. The beginning of the controversy.

8:15am
Our friend Brooks arrived:8:30am
Jonathan left for his first track session of the day - he's in "A" group. This is Lisa giving him some last-minute team instructions:9:00amTammer and I got his car and his new roll cage mounted video camera ready to go just in time for his first track session of the day - he's in "B" group. Jonathan returned from his session - the car was in good shape and all warmed up for my use. Jonathan dubbed himself my "tire warmer".

9:30am
Tammer returned, but I missed his arrival back in the paddock because I was already strapped into Jonathan's car and waiting in the staging area for my instructor. I was in "C" group, and my instructor was a cool guy named Bob Solomon. Bob jumped in, passed me the intercom mic, and we pulled out of paddock staging to head over to track staging.

9:35am
We're waved out onto the track for the first run. I felt really rusty for the first lap, but that was OK because the first lap is usually a warm-up lap, especially for the first session of the day. I quickly fell back into the groove of hitting my turn-ins, apexes, and track-outs, but still felt unsure of where and how much to brake and how early to get on the throttle for corner exits. I'd never driven a car with this much motor or braking power on the track, so I had to start adjusting. I also got my first taste of the weird new turn signal passing rule. Seemed weird, but I quickly adjusted.

9:56am
Session already over. Felt like it lasted all of 5 minutes. I pulled into the paddock and noticed the "Low coolant level" message on the car's display, the first of many times this phantom message would appear throughout the weekend - but only for me, and only when pulling in after a session. Delightful.

10:00am
Brooks headed out for his first session of the day - he was in "D" group.10:30am
My group (C) had its first classroom session. Sadly, there was not a lot of instruction - most of the session was taken up with arguments/discussions/gripes/bitching/pissing/moaning about the use of turn signals for passing. Not the best use of classroom time, in my humble opinion.

11:30am
Instructor ride-along session. Instructor Bob took me for a ride in his track-prepped E36 M3. His car was full-on race equipped, with a very loud exhaust. Even with helmets on and the intercom cranked I couldn't hear what he was trying to teach me over the din, but his car was impressive - and he cut a very consistent line despite the traffic. At one point he asked me if I was feeling ok, probably because I hadn't said anything for about a lap - but I was just quietly diggin' the E-ticket ride. I wish I'd gotten a picture of his car.

12:00 noon
Lunch. By the time I got back to the paddock, Jonathan and Tammer had already left to go pick up sandwiches for lunch. Such service!

The afternoon continued with alternating track/classroom sessions for each run group. I felt myself improve quite a bit as the day went on, and was having an absolute blast.

During one session, I was trying to improve my line through Turns 2, 3, and 4 (The Esses) when I magically did it just so perfectly right that the car practically drove itself. It was like the difference between a wrestling match and salsa dancing - and it was so fucking cool it gave me goosebumps.
Day 2 - to be continued...

Day 1, part 2

6:45pmTammer arrives at ELM to pick me up in his track car. We wedge my bags into the small gaps not occupied by his bags, his tools, and his full set of 4 track tires. All good.

7:30pm
We arrive at the track tech check-in about 30 minutes before close. Surprisingly, we were the only ones in line and it looked like we would fly right through the car check, but no... the tech stewards find a problem with Tammer's brake lights - they're always on. Tammer was tired, stressed, and a bit demoralized at this, but I figured the problem was minor. Sure enough, 5 minutes of diagnosis determined that the electrical switch at the brake pedal was not correctly aligned with a contact point, which left the lights always on. This was good news, until we realized that getting two hands up under the dashboard to re-align the switch would require extreme feats of contortion.7:45pm
Switch aligned! Brake lights again light up only when pedal is pressed. How novel. Tech inspection passed, Tammer and I head to Ithaca and the home of Mrs. Van Houtte, our very gracious host for the weekend.8:15pm
On the way, we stop at a BBQ joint whose name I forget in a little town whose name I also forget. I should really write this stuff down. Anyway, the BBQ was pretty dang good by my estimation, but perhaps my palette is not educated in the ways of BBQ - Tammer rated it "merely passable".

9:00pm
Tammer lets me drive his new track car the rest of the way to Ithaca. It's a fun ride - a '94 325i 4 door, gutted interior, racing seats, 6 point harnesses, full roll cage, chip, cam, and many suspension upgrades. It handles very well - my car handles like a wet mop in comparison.

9:30pm
We arrive at Mrs. Van Houtte's home in Ithaca, chat with the assembled Van Houtte crew for a little while, and then hit the rack early.

Still workin' on it...

You could say I'm lacking a bit in the writing motivation department lately. I've had these weird eye strain headaches lately, and looking at the computer just seems to make it worse. In the interest of more procrastination, here's a picture from my weekend at Watkins Glen:That's me drivin'.

Workin' on it

Yes, I am a tease and have not posted days 2 and 3. I'll have them finished soon, and to tide you over, here's part of what happened in those two days:

Part One

Friday, May 11, 2007
6:07am
Alarm goes off, I ignore it

6:20am
I finally stop ignoring the alarm and get my tired ass out of bed. As is my standard habit, I was up until the wee hours of the morning packing. Someday I will learn how to pack for a trip during normal people hours.

7:05am
After a quick shower, Melba and I hit the road for the airport. She very graciously volunteered to dump my sorry ass off.

7:30am
I arrive at the airport early, but while going through security screening, my camera bag sets off a TSA alarm for nitroglycerine. The entire contents of my bags are now spread out on a folding table in the screening area, and every electronic device in my bags is re-sent through the x-ray, I get frisked by a polite TSP officer, and am left to wait while two other officers run wet naps over my belongings and test the wet naps for nasty substances. One officer gives a half-hearted attempt at re-packing my stuff, but I wasn't going to make my flight if I waited that long, so I take over. According to the other officer, one of my camera lenses was tripping the hazardous substance sensors. They became extra suspicious when they saw a drop of dried liquid on it, and were nonplussed when I told them it was remnants of a leaky bottle of pineapple juice. Total TSA holdup, about 16 minutes. Good thing I arrived early.

8:10am
Flight starts boarding.

8:50am
Off, into the wild blue yonder. I dig airplanes, enjoy flying, and damn do I ever love to travel. So fun, even when I'm going somewhere I've already been. I have a tough time sleeping on flights because of all the excitement. Unless I'm drunk. Then I sleep like the dead.

9:16am
Beverage service. I always order apple juice. Airplanes are the only place I drink apple juice.

9:35am
People traveling with small children should be given their own section of the plane, preferably in the tail, preferably in sonic seclusion from the rest of the cabin.

11:15am (eastern time zone)
Landed in Detroit. First leg of flight is now done, I may become violent if these kids are on my connecting flight.

11:40am
My next flight doesn't leave for two more hours. Might need to explore the airport for awhile. No free WiFi here.

12:35pm
Crazy lighted moving walkway tunnel beneath one of the runways at DTW that connects the main terminal with concourse C.

12:45pm
Gate got moved to C14. Thrilling. Flight leaves in an hour.

1:44pm
Flight was supposed to leave at 1:32, which got bumped to 1:44, which ended up being 1:55. I was quickly duped out of the armrest by the fat priest sitting next to me, who craftily kept his left elbow on it the entire flight. The back of his elbow left a sweaty spot on my rib. Strike three for organized religion.

2:28pm
Flight landed at Elmira/Corning regional airport. Gorgeous weather here - 77 degrees, sunny.

4:20pm
Had a surprisingly good hot corned beef sandwich. Have two hours to kill before Tammer arrives from Philadelphia to pick me up.

Or so I thought.

Here I thought I had all these photos of my grandmother Eleanore looking elegant and proper, but as it turns out, the photos I was thinking of were of her older sister. Bah! Shows what I know. In reality, the photos I have of Eleanore are mostly of her as a young woman, then skip ahead to late middle age. She always looks happy, but none show her in any formal settings.

Grandma and Grandpa

This is my dad's mother and father, Eleanore and John Lyon. I love this photo. I see a little bit of my dad in each of their faces, and I wish I could have met them. Seriously - doesn't she look like she'd be a riot to hang out with? Most of the photos I have of her can be categorized two ways - laughing and/or making a funny face, or looking very elegant. I'll post an elegant photo tomorrow.

Costco is selling Mexican Coke!

LINK
Thanks to Flickr user "slworking2" for the photo.

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